THE Melbourne derby was always set to be a huge matchup, and regardless of ladder positioning – the Melbourne Vixens on top and Collingwood Magpies currently on course to win the wooden spoon – the battle did not disappoint. While the Magpies came out hot, the Vixens used every ounce of their experience and poise to run out eight goal victors (61-53).

A huge eight-zip start to the Magpies told the story of the first quarter, with the cellar dwelling side firing early against the table toppers who were missing their general out in attack, co-captain Liz Watson. It was an uncharacteristically inaccurate Vixens side that started the quarter, credit to Geva Mentor’s stellar hands over pressure on the shot. Transition through the Vixens midcourt was stunted, with the side unable to cleanly make their way down court and getting blocked from easy drives. For the Magpies though, they had a stellar start and it was not entirely down to the Vixens’ sloppiness with Molly Jovic and Kelly Altman impressing on the feed early finding Shimona Nelson with ease. 

While Kadie-Ann Dehaney got the start against Nelson, Emily Mannix entered not long into the match and had an immediate impact attacking the goal shooter’s hands, allowing the Vixens to force their way back. But little errors continued to plague the Vixens, with Tayla Honey a little bit shaky in her first start in Watson’s absence and the goalers taking some time to adjust. A couple of super shots allowed the Vixens to reduce the margin, fighting to an 11-12 scoreline during the super shot period seeing Magpies coach Rob Wright call a tactical timeout to stem the flow. The Magpies came out of the timeout flying, with a Mentor gather and Gabby Sinclair super shot extending the scoreline once more. A fatigued-looking Caitlin Thwaites got the ring around in the final minute of the quarter, hitting the deck a couple of times and seeing the Magpies lead by five goals at the first change.

Thwaites started the second on the bench as Tegan Philip stepped into goal attack, and a Magpies break on the opening centre pass saw the Vixens capitalise with two quick goals on the board. Mannix’s body on body pressure and ability to attack the hands without drawing the contact saw another goal off the hands of a Magpies centre, getting the Vixens within two. While the Vixens attack still did not seem to be quite right, it was firing much better with Kate Moloney leading the way as Mwai Kumwenda showcased her impressive athleticism out the front. 

The scoreline continued to tick over with neither side able to break the centre despite the defensive effort to win ball back. Jo Weston had a stellar second quarter, exploiting Sinclair’s comparative inexperience and using her great positioning to gain possession. Accuracy was no issue for the Magpies which was what kept their noses in front, while the Vixens’ uncharacteristic inaccuracy saw much of the defensive effort from Mannix and Weston wasted. Scores levelled and Thwaites returned to the court, and suddenly the intensity lifted once more for the Vixens as they took their first lead of the game, extending to a four goal lead at half time. 

The Vixens started the third quarter well outside the circle but struggled to find the ball within, and while the goalers were far more accurate there was a lot of patience needed to get the ball in. Mentor and Jodi-Ann Ward were exceptional spotting the turnover ball, able to adapt to the Vixens goalers’ positioning and pass off to a waiting Mel Bragg. Nelson’s hands improved as the game went on as did her positioning, allowing her to draw the penalties from Mannix. The Vixens attack-line seemed to lose some of its speed and options to the ball, seeing Elle McDonald take the court for Honey and add a different layer out the front with her hard drive to circle edge. The Vixens extended a seven goal lead by three quarter time, seeing the Magpies continue their accurate game but unable to turn around the margin. 

The Vixens continued their better form in the final quarter, with improved speed and renewed intensity. But the Magpies would not back down, consistently applying pressure and forcing error-ridden long bombs down court from their crosstown rivals. Continuing to go goal for goal and just over five minutes left on the clock, both teams were gearing up for the super shot period with Nyah Allen taking the court in goal shooter and the Magpies defenders stepping up their game once more. Despite a couple straight super shots from the Magpies, the Vixens were well in control and ran away with an eight goal victory 61-53.

Player of the match Moloney racked up 23 goal assists from 36 feeds to go with her two intercepts and three deflections (one to advantage) while also managing a huge seven pickups, never far from the action. Honey and McDonald racked up 11 assists apiece in their shared time on court, both also coming away with a couple of pickups for their efforts. At the post, it was a fairly shared effort between the three Vixens goalers with Philip (22 goals from 26 attempts), Thwaites (21 from 22, two super shots) and Kumwenda (14 from 16, two super shots) all having their time in the spotlight, and while quiet in patches, Mannix and Weston were consistent down back, combining for eight gains (three intercepts). For the Magpies, Mentor’s fine form continued with another huge effort for six gains (two intercepts), aided by a more reserved Ward than we typically see, though she still managed three intercepts of her own. Nelson was accurate out the front with 43 goals at 96 per cent, while Sinclair did not hit the scoreboard as much as usual (six from eight) but racked up 26 assists from 31 feeds to top the leaderboard.

>>>MAGPIES TEAM PAGE
>>> VIXENS TEAM PAGE
>>> FULL MATCH STATS

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COLLINGWOOD MAGPIES 17 | 9 | 13 | 14 (53)
MELBOURNE VIXENS 12 | 18 | 16 | 15 (61)

STARTING SEVEN

Magpies

GS: Shimona Nelson
GA: Gabby Sinclair
WA: Kelly Altmann
C: Molly Jovic
WD: Mel Bragg
GD: Jodi-Ann Ward
GK: Geva Mentor

Vixens 

GS: Mwai Kumwenda
GA: Caitlin Thwaites
WA: Tayla Honey
C: Kate Moloney
WD: Kate Eddy
GD: Jo Weston
GK: Kadie-Ann Dehaney

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Courtside Comments: Round 4 – Molly Jovic
Courtside Comments: Round 10 – Kate Eddy
Courtside Comments: Round 11 – Mel Bragg

Elle McDonald ready for the next step